5 ways to get the most out of your recruiter

Struggling to progress to interview, tired of sending out CVs and hearing nothing back, or wondering why roles seem to disappear before you even apply? You’re not alone. Job hunting can feel like a full-time job in itself, and a frustrating one at that.

That’s where a recruiter can transform your search. Beyond simply putting you forward for roles, recruiters can help you tap into the hidden job market, share insider knowledge, and offer tailored advice to help you make stronger moves.
For example, UK Careers Fair estimate that over 60% of job vacancies are never publicly advertised. These roles often get filled through referrals, internal promotions, or via trusted recruiters. So, by working with recruiters, you gain access to opportunities you might never see otherwise.

Let’s look at how to maximise the value of that partnership.

1. Transparency is key

It can be tempting to tell a recruiter what you think they want to hear… “I’m open to a long commute”, “I’ll take whatever salary the company offers” or “I’m fine with long hours if that’s what it takes”. But lack of transparency often leads to bad matches.

When you’re upfront about what you really want (your deal-breakers, your ambitions, even the worries you have about certain roles) you give your recruiter the tools to make an authentic match. For example:

• If you need flexibility for family commitments, say so.
• If you’re itching to move into leadership, share that ambition.
• If you know you don’t thrive in cut-throat sales environments, be clear.

The more candid you are, the less likely you are to end up in a role that you begin to hate after the shininess wears off. Recruiters genuinely want you to succeed long-term; a quick win that leads to you quitting in six months isn’t good for anyone. Transparency helps your recruiter steer you towards companies where you’ll not only get hired but actually feel at home.

2. Your recruiter is your CV coach  

A CV that reads like a job description or a list of duties won’t cut it anymore. Hiring teams and automated filters want evidence: what did you actually change? How much did you save, grow, speed up, or improve? Recruiters don’t just tell you this, they help you prove it.

Here’s how a recruiter can actively support and upgrade your CV:

Translate duties into impact
Recruiters will push you to turn “managed projects” into “delivered X project on time, reducing costs by 18%” or “increased trial-to-conversion by 24%.” Concrete numbers beat vague adjectives every time.

Surface the right stories
They’ll help you choose the two or three achievements that matter most for the roles you want and put them at the top of the CV where hiring managers (and ATS) will see them.

Keyword-tailoring for ATS
Modern job adverts are built to filter. Recruiters know which keywords and job-phrases hiring teams expect. They’ll help you weave those naturally into your CV and profile.

Format for skim-readers
They’ll advise on layout, headings, and phrasing so your impact is obvious in a 6–12 second skim.

Bypass the machine when it matters
Recruiters can bypass ATS filtering by speaking directly to the hiring manager. They can vouch for you, explain nuances that a CV can’t capture, and position your application at the forefront.

3. Recruiters keep you in the race

The hiring landscape is moving faster than ever. Roles can be briefed in the morning and start interviewing by the afternoon. Blink, and you risk missing out. That’s where your recruiter becomes more than a middleman, they act as your personal assistant, gatekeeper, and receptionist all rolled into one.

If you’re tied up at work, stuck in meetings, or simply can’t step away to take calls, your recruiter can keep opportunities alive on your behalf. They’ll:

• Respond instantly to hiring managers to secure interview slots before they vanish.
• Pass along your details and availability without you needing to be on standby 24/7.
• Keep the pipeline warm, ensuring new roles don’t slip past just because you were offline for a few hours.

Think of it this way, while you focus on your current role (and avoid awkward “job-hunt calls” at your desk), your recruiter is out there making sure doors stay open.

4. Tap into insider knowledge

One of the biggest mistakes jobseekers make is treating recruiters like someone who just drops your CV off at a company’s door. In reality, recruiters know what’s really going on behind the job ad, and this is information they can share with you.

Ask about:

Salary benchmarks
So you don’t undersell yourself or price yourself out.

Company culture clues
Is this a place where people thrive long-term, or somewhere with high turnover?

Interview prep secrets
What hiring managers focus on, which questions come up time and again, and what past successful candidates did differently.

Market trends
Which skills are on the rise, and which industries are shrinking or growing.

This isn’t information you’ll find on Google or in a job spec. It’s gathered from daily conversations with employers, feedback from dozens of interviews, and trends across the market.

5. Think long-term

It’s easy to see recruiters as a quick route from one job to the next. But the real value comes when you treat the relationship as a long-term partnership. A good recruiter doesn’t disappear the moment you sign a contract, they can be a sounding board, a market guide, and a career ally for years.

Here’s what that looks like:

• Once a recruiter knows you well, they’ll keep you in mind when the perfect role lands, sometimes before it even goes public.
• They can offer long term career guidance to help you decide if it’s the right moment to move, whether an internal promotion is smarter, or which skills to build for future growth.
• Recruiters hear the good, the bad, and the ugly from countless candidates and employers. They can give you a reality check that friends and colleagues sometimes can’t.

The truth is that careers don’t follow neat, straight lines anymore. People change industries, retrain, or take sideways moves that later pay off. Having a recruiter who knows your story and your goals means you’ve got someone in your corner who can guide you throughout.

Working with a recruiter can make your job search smarter and faster.

Take the next step:

Explore our live jobs and see what roles currently match your experience.

Or, connect with a consultant today to start working together more strategically.